One of my favorite games ever. Seriously one of the best online experiences I've ever had.

One of the things I really like about the Switch is that I can actually buy a whole physical game that doesn't need an Internet connection. Sure, I have to check a website first, but I can at least curate my wishlist with games that are complete on cart.

At least them giving it a new name makes choosing games easier, I guess.

They lost me during the bit about "Do you want to have to not just learn about but care about ticky-tacky coder stuff when you are just a person trying to play a video game?"

In fighting games for example, frame data is essential for learning the game. It's like knowing what the pieces do in chess. They just want to move the horsey around and not worry about all these pesky mechanics. Not all games need to be like that, but it's absolutely appropriate in certain genres.

Parries we're awesome in Sekiro because the entire game was built around them. The parry window was wide and the whole game was built to be a sort of rhythm combat game. It's important to note that the parry wasn't the only tool you were supposed to use. You had to react with Mikiri counters and jumps as well. The whole game came together to make the incredible duels that feel like a dance.

If they wanted to say that developers saw Sekiro's popularity and started shoving parries in where they don't belong then I could see that argument. There's some nuance there that this blanket statement of parries bad misses though.

I agree, sales are constant (at least on PC) so I almost never even paid the $60 price tag. They can keep cranking up the prices but more and more people may just wait for sales. I know Nintendo games don't go on sale very often but that makes the ecosystem even less attractive. $450 is in the range of a Steam deck.

Inflation or not, prices can only go up if the market will support them. If people are unable (or unwilling) to pay the higher prices, then prices basically can't go up.

The Switch Lite is exactly this. $200 handheld that runs first party games. There are android handhelds like the Retroid pocket 5 as well.

A Steam Deck Lite would be incredible. Small, cheap, linux-based, and powerful enough to run indie games and some light 3D. I think that form factor basically needs an arm cpu though.

Burnout 3 on PC would be a dream. It's one of the reasons I still keep my 360 around.

I've got the 8bitdo Ultimate Bluetooth and it's great. I finally upgraded to it from my old Xbox 360 wired controller. I would say it's a worthy successor. I assume the wired versions are solid too.

I loved Grid and Dirt 3, but haven't really played any of the games since. I played Grid 2 a little bit when it went on sale. I'm interested if this new one is as good as those were.

Yeah this whole defending cheap foreign labor thing feels kind of weird to me. I might just be showing my ignorance here, but isn't the end-game for globalization about raising living standards around the world? By trading with developing countries, the investment develops their middle class and eventually their wages should catch up with ours.

It feels weird to see people saying that so much of the American economy is suddenly unviable when we have to pay livable wages. If that's the case, that's a bad thing, and it should change. Not that I think these tariffs are the solution.

Yeah I loved Giant Bomb back in the day, but it was all about the people. With Vinny, Brad, Alex, and Jeff gone I just moved on to their new projects and stopped paying attention to Giant Bomb. Nowadays Giant Bomb is just a name to me.

I feel like we keep seeing this headline. "AAA studio says current prices can't support current budgets"

I almost never buy games at $60. I buy everything on sale, and there are constantly sales and way more games than I can play. They can charge whatever they want, I personally will be paying less.

Will the market bear $80 games? Maybe. I feel like a better strategy would be to reign in scope and budget and sell games at prices most people can afford. But who knows?

I use PopOS on my desktop. I was looking to upgrade an old Chromebook and while researching my options came dangerously close to buying a MacBook Air. Decided to buy an android tablet instead for my portable computer and bought another SSD so I could dual-boot on my desktop.

It's clean, somewhat macOS like in appearance but I actually have freedom to do what I want. Just in time for Windows 10 sunsetting too.

That hasn't been my experience at all. Knowing the difference between what's plus, what's minus, and what's block punishable is super important. Knowing if I can set up a frame trap is huge, and it works specifically because it isn't always intuitive. In Tekken especially you need to know your frames for block punishes, when you can sidestep, and what options your opponent has in a given situation.

It's not always mandatory, but it's always useful.

Great to see it. I moved on to following Jeff Gerstmann and Nextlander as those guys were always what Giant Bomb was about to me, but very cool to see the brand get to live on and finally escape corporate ownership. Wish them the best.

This is part of what keeps Linux a niche for enthusiasts and professionals though. The average Windows/Mac user barely understands how to use their computer. Widespread adoption means meeting those people where they are. Whether that's a goal worth pursuing is kind of a different question.

I hope this works out for them. Ori is an awesome game and I'm interested in the new project. I wishlisted it because the videos of it look great but I usually don't buy early access games. Was planning to get it when it officially launches.

Yeah it's about use-case. Owning 2 handhelds from the same generation really only makes sense if you collect consoles. I didn't buy a Steam Deck because I got gifted a Switch Lite. I'm covered as far as handhelds go until there are new games I can't play. I would argue most people think this way.

Yeah President Camacho would be an upgrade over what we have now.

I love how the SP looks. The original feels better in the hand but the clamshell looks so good and it feels great to open and close.

I'm tempted to get a foldable as my next phone because I miss that design.

I'm in an interesting place. I dual boot Windows 10 and Pop OS. Windows 11 requires Secure Boot enabled and Pop OS doesn't support it. I'd dump Windows entirely but I still need it for school. Not sure if I should switch distros or just keep using Windows 10 until I graduate.